Volkswagen is bringing back the 70s
Volkswagen knows the value of nostalgia. For years, their vehicles have occupied a unique cultural corner of the American psyche, one tightly associated with a free-wheeling, road trippin’ lifestyle.
Perhaps no vehicle is more reminiscent of this than the VW Microbus, a van perfectly suited for road trips and camping expeditions alike.
If this sounds like you, get excited; Volkswagen is bringing back the Microbus, with a few modern twists!
Bringing back the Microbus
According to a press release, Volkswagen debuted Microbus 2.0 (actually named the I.D. BUZZ) as a concept car.
Company CEO Dr. Herbert Diess said “After the presentations at the global motor shows in Detroit and Geneva, we received a large number of letter and emails from customers who said, ‘please build this car.’” As a result, Volkswagen decided to put the car into production, with a target launch date of 2022.
I.D. Buzz
So, what’s the twist? Instead of guzzling diesel fuel, the I.D. Buzz runs entirely on electricity. The model will also have its batteries mounted in the vehicle floor. A sweet perk of the microbus going green is that the electric drive components — electric motor, power electronics, and such —don’t take up much space.
That means that the vehicle has a long wheelbase with short overhangs, allowing for an interior with tons of room for activities and great proportions.
Another modern twist on the car is its autonomous driving feature. To activate it, you just press on the large VW logo on the steering wheel and the entire thing folds back into the dashboard. After the vehicle is done transforming, the drivers’ seat can swivel and rotate 180 degrees. The seat can also slide around on set grooves in the floor.
Old-school smiles
In short, the I.D. BUZZ is well-balanced to capitalize on modern tech and old-school smiles. No one understands this better than the CNET author who took it for a test drive. “I was grinning ear-to-ear the entire time, more so than I have in any other car in a very long time. The incredibly bright, wide open interior creates a very airy space, but it’s the visibility that enables you to see the smiles on the faces of everyone around when you drive this thing, people who congregate around this thing in droves. Their smiles are seriously contagious.”
Nostalgia in full swing
People love this van and the memories associated with it. It will be very nice to see it back out on the road.
